How deep corruption’s rot goes

Monique Muise, THE GAZETTE12.23.2013

Photographer’s Pick: Mayor Michael Applebaum wore an Ottawa Senators sweater to a news conference at city hall in Montreal, on Monday, May 27, 2013, after losing a bet between the two cities.Dave Sidaway
/ The Gazette

Former Laval mayor, Gilles Vaillancourt, appears at the courthouse with his lawyer in Laval north of Montreal, Tuesday Oct. 1, 2013.Vincenzo D'Alto
/ The Gazette

Reporters take pictures, from television screens, of Jocelyn Dupuis, former director of FTQ construction, as he appears in front of the Charbonneau Commission on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013.Pierre Obendrauf
/ The Gazette

MONTREAL — Corruption comes in all sorts of packages. Sometimes it’s a major scandal that rocks the foundations of an administration and sends dozens of people running for their paper shredders. Sometimes it’s the swipe of a pen as someone with the power to do so approves the rezoning of an obscure piece of land. And sometimes it’s just a guy handing another guy some tickets to a Habs game with a wink and the expectation that, eventually, there will be a return on his investment. Quebec has played host to all of these incarnations and plenty of others besides, and 2013 was arguably the year when we learned just how deep the rot went — and perhaps continues to go. Through it all, a few personalities stood out. These were the people who embodied both Quebec’s corruption problem and its efforts to fight it. As 2013 draws to a close, The Gazette has compiled a list, in no particular order, of the seven biggest players.

Arthur Porter: Still languishing in a Panamanian jail seven months after he was arrested in the Central American nation on May 27, Porter hasn’t made major headlines since the summer. But his alleged crimes — and his failing health — were the subject of much discussion and debate in the first half of 2013. The former head of the McGill University Health Centre is suspected of conspiracy and fraud in connection with the construction of Montreal’s new $1.3-billion superhospital and the awarding of that lucrative contract to engineering giant SNC-Lavalin. In early 2013, while in the Bahamas, Porter announced he was suffering from lung cancer, but that didn’t stop authorities from detaining both him and his wife a few months later when they touched down in Panama — a move that Porter claimed violated his rights. While Pamela Porter has since been extradited back to Canada and then released on bail to await trial, her husband fought the Canadian authorities every step of the way. His extradition case remains in limbo.

Robert Lafrenière: As the public face of the province’s permanent anti-corruption unit (UPAC), Lafrenière has arguably had a very good year. In December 2012, the veteran SQ officer predicted that several of his unit’s investigations would come to a head within the next few months. UPAC delivered with gusto in early 2013, raiding Montreal’s city hall in February and then making a series of high-profile arrests that left no doubt that Lafrenière and his troops meant business. But that was just the tip of the iceberg in a year that saw searches in dozens of locations and the laying of hundreds of charges alleging everything from tax evasion to gangsterism. While UPAC has been busy, it also came under fire for failing to inform the public that it had raided the Quebec Liberal Party’s headquarters, and for the timing of Applebaum’s arrest (critics argued it destabilized city hall at an already challenging moment).

Michael Applebaum: The former mayor of Montreal’s annus horribilis began long before he was handcuffed and led unceremoniously out of his home at the break of dawn one day in June. As early as the second week of January, a visit to Applebaum’s office from UPAC was raising questions about his possible involvement in a series of shady land-transfer deals during his time as mayor of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. A month later, the anti-corruption unit raided Montreal’s central city hall and the C.D.N.–N.D.G. borough offices, but still Applebaum maintained he was not a target of the investigations. As the weeks passed and suspicion morphed into scandal, Applebaum tried to go about the business of running the city. But it all came to a head on June 17, when the interim mayor was picked up by the Sûreté du Québec and charged with fraud. He resigned 24 hours later, leaving an already jaded populace wondering if it was even possible to clean house at city hall. A few months later, only 40 per cent of Montreal’s eligible voters turned up at the polls to elect a new mayor.

France Charbonneau: Two years after being named to the head of a sweeping inquiry into corruption and collusion in Quebec’s construction industry, Charbonneau has become a household name in this province and across Canada. A subpoena to appear before “Madame la juge” is typically greeted with mild to severe trepidation, leading many people with connections to the criminal underworld to hire a team of lawyers to fight the summons. As of the middle of December, none of them had succeeded. Charbonneau’s patience has been sorely tested this year, however, with a colourful cast of characters (complete with nicknames like “Mr. 3 per cent” and “Mr. Sidewalk”) stubbornly refusing to co-operate while on the stand. With at least six more months to go before she retreats behind closed doors to begin writing her final report and recommendations (due in the spring of 2015), she will undoubtedly continue to personify Quebec’s ongoing efforts to get rid of the rot.

Gilles Vaillancourt: The people of Laval probably thought they had seen the last of their disgraced former mayor when he resigned in late 2012 amid a thick cloud of scandal. But even after being forced from office — and then arrested and charged with fraud and gangsterism — the cat came back. In October, Laval mayoral candidate Claire LeBel revealed she had been approached by Vaillancourt, who allegedly offered to help her with her campaign “very discreetly, without letting anyone know.” LeBel recorded the conversation then handed the tape over to police, but it wasn’t enough to get her elected. Since then, Quebec’s third-largest city has continued picking up the pieces. As of Dec. 9, Laval is no longer under provincial trusteeship, allowing the new municipal council — headed up by former police officer-turned mayor Marc Demers — to officially take the reins.

Ken Pereira: In 2012, former construction boss Lino Zambito set the standard for star witnesses at the Charbonneau Commission. Unapologetic, highly co-operative and bursting at the seams with shocking allegations, it seemed no one would come close to matching his whirlwind week on the stand. Then, almost exactly one year later, came Ken Pereira. The “accidental fall” down a flight of stairs that sent the former FTQ union boss to hospital and kept him from completing his testimony for nearly a month only added to the public fascination with Pereira. He became the cornerstone witness of the inquiry’s fall session, accusing some of the top executives within the province’s largest labour organization of colluding with the mob and the Hells Angels, and setting the stage for everyone who took the stand after him.

Benoit Roberge: The arrest of one of their own was, to put it mildly, a tough pill to swallow for the Sûreté du Québec, especially when the suspect happened to be a veteran of the force who was involved in some of the biggest anti-biker gang operations in recent memory. Benoit Roberge, who was arrested in October, is suspected of transmitting information to the Hells Angels through member René Charlebois, who took his own life in September after escaping from prison. Roberge’s fall from grace destabilized current investigations, forced a thorough re-examination of past cases and left many experts in organized crime shaking their heads at the sheer audacity of the alleged betrayal.

Honourable mention — Gilles Cloutier: Who? Cloutier’s appearance at the Charbonneau Commission in May was greeted with plenty of head-scratching among journalists covering the inquiry, and no one really knew what to expect from the 73-year-old former political fundraiser. But what he lacked in pre-inquiry fame (or infamy), he made up for in jaw-dropping anecdotes. With six decades spent raising money for political parties and nothing to hide, Cloutier provided a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of corruption in Quebec. He described fixing dozens of elections, and explained how he handed over colour televisions and livestock in exchange for provincial Liberal votes in the 1950s. In later decades, he even arranged a one-on-one meeting with Habs legend Jean Béliveau to ingratiate himself to the mayor of St-Stanislas-de-Kostka, a story that prompted Béliveau to react, saying he “wasn’t expecting that.” That’s OK, Mr. Béliveau. None of us were.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.